Berlusconi's video rant over jail sentence

People of Freedom party leader Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a book presentation of Italian journalist Bruno Vespa "Il Palazzo e la Piazza" (The Palace and the Square) in Rome. At a public appearance, Berlusconi claimed that he would back a government of moderates in the next election should Monti agree to head it and that in such a case he would step aside as a candidate. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has broadcast a video in which he hits out angrily over his prison sentence for tax fraud.

The billionaire, 76, said he was the innocent victim of “an incredible series of accusations and trials that had nothing to do with reality” after the Italian supreme court upheld his conviction following a three-day hearing.

The disgraced politician was highly emotional as he spoke to the camera using notes, with the Italian and European Union flags in the background.

“In exchange for the commitments I have made over almost 20 years in favour of my country and coming almost at the end of my public life, I have been rewarded with accusations and a verdict that is founded on absolutely nothing, that takes away my personal freedom and my political rights,” he said. During the nine-minute video, he criticised his country’s judicial record, saying: “Is this the Italy that we want? Is this the Italy that we love? Absolutely not.”

He was sentenced to four years in jail at the end of the trial last October, though this was automatically reduced to a year under a 2006 pardon law.

It was the first definitive sentence he has received after dozens of previous trials on charges ranging from tax to sex offences. He is now fighting a separate conviction, involving paying for sex with a minor, in the notorious “bunga bunga” prostitution case that tarnished his final months of office in 2011.

The supreme court yesterday ordered part of Berlusconi’s original sentence for the tax fraud conviction, which imposed a ban on holding political office, to be reviewed.

He is unlikely to go to jail because of his age and it is thought he will serve his sentence under house arrest or carry out community service.

The case has left the fate of the country’s fragile coalition government resting in the balance. It has come just three months after Prime Minister Enrico Letta and his Democratic Party took office in tandem with Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party.

President Giorgio Napolitano, who would have to decide whether to call new elections if the ruling coalition fell apart, urged calm following the hearing and said the country needed “serenity and cohesion”.

Mr Letta echoed his sentiments, saying in a statement: “For the good of the country it is necessary that, despite legitimate internal debate among political forces, a climate of calm and support for our institutions ensures that the interests of Italy prevail over party interests.”